Tyler

Shough

Underhill’s colleagues, Mike Triplett and John Hendrix, agree. Triplett was the most bearish of the bunch, saying he is not sure that Shough will be able to crack the position’s top 10. Underhill notes that Vegas sports books have Shough in a five-way tie for the sixth-best odds to lead the NFL in passing yards. He adds that he is “not sure” if he can get to sixth, but he knows for sure that he can’t get to 13th. Shough was the QB10 in per-game fantasy scoring from Weeks 8-18, and the upgraded offense is expected to take another step in Year 2 under head coach Kellen Moore. Shough’s top-12 passing potential seems legit, and he has a shot to finish in that range in fantasy as well.

The Saints will host the Steelers in a Paris matchup, the inaugural Paris game for the NFL at the Stade de France. The Saints did not play an international game in 2025 while the Steelers will play overseas for the second straight year, defeating the Vikings in Ireland last season. The game will be during Week 7 of the 2026 season, potentially meaning a bye for both teams before or after the game.

He had another touchdown called back by OPI. Playing with a skeleton crew receiver corps, Shough stacked another positive performance despite the loss and pick. He continued to look impressive on the go, and has proven more than capable of threading throws into tight windows. That includes over-the-top, where Shough has appeared adept at finding the soft spot in the defense. Already 26 years old, Shough could be close to a finished product, but he has already looked better than his pre-draft profile suggested. That was something like “Derek Carr lite.” It now looks like there could be a real ceiling here, if still not necessarily truly elite upside. At the very least, however, Shough has earned the Week 1 starting job for 2026. He’s a top 15-18 option in dynasty leagues, with room to grow.

Shough had been quietly stacking solid performances heading into Week 17. He truly put it all together today, beating up on a downtrodden Titans defense for a career-high in passing yards and a career-best in yards per attempt at 12.3. Shough also had a would-be touchdown to Dante Pettis that was wiped out when Pettis fumbled the football at the two-yard line. Multiple Saints defenders were in the end zone and failed to scoop up the loose ball. It was eventually corralled by the Titans. Shough is playing his way into the starting role beyond just this year. A good performance in Week 18 versus the Falcons could be enough to secure the gig for another season.

Shough also had a touchdown called back on a holding penalty. He had no issues picking apart the New York secondary, at one point completing nine straight passes. Though he appeared to sustain an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, Shough was relatively un-pressured against a soft Jets front seven. Shough fed Chris Olave from start to finish. Olave easily led all Saints pass catchers with 16 targets and nearly came down with a few downfield shots from Shough, including a near-touchdown in the first half. Shough profiles as a solid streaming play for Week 17 against a weak Titans secondary.

Panthers defenders were flagged at least three times for deserved unnecessary roughness penalties against Shough today. Panthers DT Derrick Brown, LB Christian Rozeboom and S Lathan Ransom all lowered their shoulders on Shough after he had given himself up by sliding at the end of a scramble. He briefly met with the training staff after taking Rozeboom’s knee in his lower right back and glute, but was able to return, and ended up leading his team in rushing. Shough relied heavily on WR Devaughn Vele until Vele left with a shoulder injury. The departure seemingly reminded Shough of WR Chris Olave’s existence, leading the two to link up for four completions, 62 yards and one touchdown on the Saints’ seventh drive. Shough is a mildly interesting QB2 against the Jets next week.

On the rarest of three-touchdown days for the Saints, Shough shockingly accounted for two of them with his legs. He tallied a 34-yarder with a read-option keeper in the third quarter and added a 13-yarder the following frame by absorbing a big hit at the goal line. Shough’s 13-yard TD was a true scramble, not a designed run. Those were by far his biggest plays on a day where he completed just 13 passes, but seemingly all of his completions came on big second-half third downs. Shough kept the chains moving, and the Saints kept the upset percolating. The Bucs still got the ball back with a chance to win, but, unlike Shough, Baker Mayfield couldn’t get the critical third- or fourth-down completion to keep the game going. Doing a little more of, well, everything than expected, Shough is making a bid to return for 2026 as starter, though we still would not consider that written in stone. He will need to have more positive days down the stretch. Week 15 opponent Carolina will be coming off bye, and has had some big defensive efforts of late, keeping Shough firmly outside the top 24 in fantasy.

Shough added 18 carries on six attempts and was sacked six times. He was also active on two-point conversion plays, for better and for worse. Shough punched in a two-pointer on the ground but also threw a pick-two (interceptions returned to the end zone on two-point conversions are worth two points) on his second try. Despite struggling to get much going during this game, Shough came on late, getting all 17 of his team’s points in the second half. He even had a chance to win the game with a deep shot to Olave with under a minute to go. Shough put the ball where it needed to be, but Olave dropped the pass, ultimately costing New Orleans the game. Shough will remain the starter for Week 14, but it’s not clear if he is even an upgrade over Spencer Rattler. Needless to say, Shough is not a great fantasy option for Week 14 versus Tampa Bay.

Shough and the Saints offense could not get much going against the Falcons defense. On the opening drive, Shough fumbled a botched handoff to Alvin Kamara, while the offense stalled in the red zone on the second drive after a long kick return. The Saints got inside the ten-yard line in the third quarter, but stalled for a turnover on downs. Shough and the Saints yet again found themselves in the red zone in the third quarter; Shough was tackled at the one-yard line on a run and the Saints yet again could not score. With Taysom Hill mixing in at quarterback in the red zone, the Saints failed to punch it in several times throughout the game. Shough ultimately ended this one with an interception as time wound down. He is a shallow passer, tallying 5.7 yards per attempt on the day and adding 22 rushing yards on seven carries. Shough will be a low-end QB2 heading into Week 13 against the Dolphins.

Shough hit Chris Olave for a 62-yard touchdown that gave the Saints the lead at the start of the second quarter and never looked back. The 26-year-old rookie quarterback had a more than passable performance in his second career start. After a Bryce Young interception in the fourth quarter, the Saints took over leading by three. Shough iced the game with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. In the Saints’ first game without Rashid Shaheed, Shough completed nine of his 19 passes to Olave and Johnson. The Saints have a bye in Week 11, but he’ll be in low-end QB2 territory for the rest of the season.